Duran Duran - Duran Duran
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Free Music Notes for Duran Duran
Free Music Review: Classic Duran
Hit: 5 Stars
For those that only recall "Hungry Like the Wolf" and all the countless songs Duran Duran had on the radio, one can easily forget how different, unique and innovative a band like Duran really was in the early 1980s. Duran Duran were no doubt the first "new romantic" or "new wave" outfit that bands today like The Killers, Franz Ferdinand, The Strokes, The Bravery, Interpol and the like are influenced by/imitating to a great degree of success. (Who said the '80s were never cool? The joke is on them now!)
This debut album by Duran Duran showcases that early dark, brooding and eerie "new romantic" sound that the aforementioned bands are serving up on their albums some 25 years later. Songs like "Nightboat", "To the Shore", "Friends of Mine" and "Sound of Thunder" are long lost Duran classics in that vein, and the relevance of the Duran sound has been vindicated by the current rush of today's top acts to say Duran Duran was an influence.
And as with any Duran Duran album, the hits are here as well: "Girls on Film" and "Planet Earth" are still as fresh today as they were then on the first days of MTV.
On a lighter note, the album isn't all "dark" as the menacing pop of "Careless Memories" (which should have been a single) and "Anyone Out There" shine, and are unforgettable songs which still remain highlights in a live Duran Duran concert setting in 2005.
Some often forget Duran Duran was indeed a talented and instrumentally gifted outfit, and this first album shows a preview of what was to come. The rhythm section of Roger Taylor (drums) and John Taylor (bass) are at long last getting their dues for the true talent they possess. Andy Taylor is an underrated guitarist who shines with his delicate and atmospheric tones displayed on this album and beyond, and Nick Rhodes does just the same thing, only with keyboards. Finally, Simon LeBon is perhaps the most brash and over the top front man since Mick Jagger, and that fit perfectly into the Duran style here and with what was to come, as Duran took over MTV with its flashy videos and style.
You like The Killers? You like the rush of "new wave" influenced music currently underway? This is a great place to start to see where it all began. Or, get Duran Duran's 2004 album "Astronaut", made by the original lineup and sounding better than ever.
Highly recommended.
Also recommended by Duran Duran for modern day "new wave" fans: albums like "Rio", "Astronaut", "The Singles 81-85" and "Seven and the Ragged Tiger".
Free Music Review: In Their Own Words
Hit: 5 Stars
John Taylor: "[Around] 1978, the whole punk thing started to lose its color."
Nick Rhodes: "We grew up in the 70's with glam rock; I suppose that's where our influences are, our stylistic influences, and so we wanted to move more back towards that."
John Taylor: "But at the same time there was this new wave of bands, like Japan, and Simple Minds that were kind of embracing that glam thing, but there was a little bit of funk coming into it, and that just seemed like, `Yeah, this is where we belong.' "
Nick Rhodes: "We found Simon [Le Bon] in 1979 and then we knew we had the full line up."
John Taylor: "We had a piece of music that had a start, a finish, a middle...it had, actually, a verse section and a chorus section and we said [to Simon], `Hey, you got any words for this?' "
Simon Le Bon: "...and I had some words that I tweaked a little bit and found that I could fit them and we had a melody that worked, and within 30 minutes we had pretty much 70% of the song called Sound Of Thunder. When you find something that works that easily and that quickly, you know you're onto a good thing."
John Taylor: "I knew we were doing something new because Andy kinda got the feel for this disco, four-on-the-floor kind of dance beat, and we wanted to somehow throw that into the equation of what was happening."
Nick Rhodes: "We were termed `New Romantics,' or `Futurists'. Actually, I preferred `Futurists' because it sounds a bit more like an art movement."
Simon Le Bon: "And I think we let ourselves become part of that scene, and be thought of as part of that because it helped us. There was a lot of interest in it. And we realized that if we could get into it that it would all spiral and it would help us take off. If you look at the music that the groups were making at that time, it wasn't that similar, really. But, there was a common feeling, a feeling of being part of something new, and this being our time, [that this was] the chance for us to go straight out there and have hits and to grab people by the throat and go, `We're here; we have arrived!' "
Free Music Review: "Duran Duran" - Remastered.
Hit: 5 Stars
Younger audiences may say otherwise, but my highlight at the 2003 MTV Video Music Awards was when the original members of Duran Duran reunited and accepted the Lifetime Achievement Award. Their victory sent a strong message to everyone in the music industry after many years of disdain from critics, and the group finally got the props they deserved. Why not? Though they had a teenage following, Duran Duran are anything but a faceless boyband. Not only do they write their own material, but they also play their own instruments. And unlike, say, the Backstreet Boys, Duran Duran are a self-made band and not the by-product of a potbellied, money-hungry svengali. After forming in 1978, the boys from Birmingham released its debut album in 1981. While it was a reasonable success in the UK, it didn't catch fire in the US until 1983, when it went Top Ten and platinum. It was one of my most-played releases in 1983, and 20 years and a college degree later, I still give it the occasional spin. The album's 9 songs are stylishly-crafted exercises in synth-heavy/new wave pop that perfectly capture the essence of the New Romantic movement. The album's most popular single, "Girls on Film," still holds up well as a commentary on life as a supermodel, while the debut single "Planet Earth" is a cool slice of disco bliss. But another track of note is "Anyone Out There," an album cut that stands out as a convincing breakup jam ("I never found out/ what made you leave. . .). On this, the remastered version, the previously deleted track "To the Shore" appears, and to be honest, it took a while for it to grow on me. But after a few repeated listens, this moody and dark track finally won me over. To be sure, Duran Duran weren't the greatest band of the 1980s, but, as this debut album proves, they epitomized the essence of cool unlike many of their peers. If, by chance, that last statement is difficult for you to digest, then get over it. To quote a line from one of Duran Duran's peers, George Michael, listen without prejudice.Free Music Review: Another great Duran Duran album
Hit: 5 Stars
For Duran Duran's first album, this is an absolutely incredible debut. From beginning to end, all the songs were written with the utmost care and artistry. The album begins with the highly cheeky but very stylish and sexy "Girls on film". You will hear a lot of dueling between the Guitar of Andy Taylor and the Keyboards of Nick Rhodes. "Planet Earth" is absolutely fantastic in that it really captures a powerful, celestial feel to it, which was I'm sure the intention of the fabulous five at the time. John Taylor's bass is more than apparant in the song and this time duels with Nick Rhodes synthesizer, which really rules the whole song, but it gives it the feel that Duran Duran was shooting for. There is no song like this before, and there has never been since. "Careless Memories" is a kind of dark, but beautifully constructed song, a song which like many of Duran Duran's other works will send chills up your spine when the chorus begins... "Fear hangs a plane of gunsmoke... Drifting in a room... so easy to disturb, with a thought, with a whisper". The Synth brings the song to a breathtaking climax, as it will many times throughout this album. "Nightboat" is a very dark and cold song, I dare say it is probably the best song on the album, the keyboards kind of provide this trilling sound which does the same thing to the listener. It is a great song to listen to at night in my opinion. "Friends of mine" is a song which cannot be overrated, it is most certainly the best song on the album and pays tribute to a the major rock band The Beatles: "Georgie Davis is coming out, no more heroes they twist and shout". I just can't find the words to describe how superlative the song is. "Tel Aviv" closes the album incredibly well, considering it is an instrumental it was very impressively composed with that trademark haunting feel that can only be created in this way by Duran Duran.Free Music Review: So easy to disturb, with a thought, with a whisper...
Hit: 5 Stars
The now infamous five's debut album remains one of my favourites. It was released at the just the right time for me - 13 years-old and desperate for quality music with an image to boot. Too young for punk but just about framed for New Wave - Duran took all those seventies influences and packaged them perfectly for an audience just about to come of age. The fact this album co-incided with "New Romanticism" is largely irrelevant. Visage, Classix and even Spandau summed up the contrived nature of some of the NR acts. The first DD album is edgy enough to stand apart from the rest. And this is the important point. Tracks such as "Friends of Mine", "Sound of Thunder" and "Planet Earth" have stood the test of time. Proof was there for all to see during the band's recent UK tour. Many of this album's songs featured during the set with "Friends" elevated to the opening number. This would not have been possible without the excellent work of producer Colin Thurston. Colin was also responsible for the production of "Rio". Undoubtedly the band's best two works. Don't believe me? Listen, if you can, to the dirge that is "Seven and the Ragged Tiger" for which CT had been replaced.
Anyway, back to the band's eponymous first album. My favourite track remains the basket case single - Careless Memories. Punk, funk and rock and roll. It reached number 37 - Britain, you should be ashamed of yourself.
Buy this album. It's of its time but it's not dated in the same way its contemporaries did.